by a South Florida Mommy Blogger

We actually got back from sailing in Thailand a little over a week ago, but the flu hit our house (compliments of 24 hours in the air I am sure).

We had a great trip and look forward to sharing some of our adventures, packing successes and failures for sailing trips, and tips for a 24 hour flight with a toddler.

Here is a healthy sailor boy photo! We beat the flu with smiles. I don’t know how that happened, but it did. I will also share my tips on getting your toddler to take the dreaded Tamiflu! You won’t know until it is too late, but Tamiflu is nasty!

Also, the bandana bib with the anchors on it is from #pashoshibaby Bandana bibs are the only bibs Donovan will wear. We love the pashoshi baby bandana bib because it is super soft and nautical!

While Donovan doesn’t need to be coaxed into eating more fruits, I find it super adorable watching him bounce around the house with his fruit kabobs.

I use craft sticks instead of skewers because of safety concerns. I chose the jumbo sticks, but I am sure the regular ones would work, as well. My concern with those was that they might break and become sharp.

Anyhow – just cut the fruit and add it to the skewer. It is as simple as that.

You can even make skewers of cucumbers or cheese. If I could skewer some broccoli, I would. He eats anything I put on the skewer. However, watermelon and fresh mozzarella (with balsamic vinegar) is his favorite.

A lot of moms have told me (and I used to believe) that the ultimate way to stop a tantrum was to distract your child. I will admit that it does work. However, this technique does not teach your child anything about patience. It does not teach your child that what they are upset about matters and sometimes it can infuriate a child causing all kinds of embarrassing situations.

I am a huge fan of homemade. I enjoy cooking and feeding my son something that I have made. I absolutely cringe anytime I take a shortcut and give him store bought snacks. His days of processed cheez-its are over. These took no time at all to make and I know exactly what is in them. Plus, they taste better!

The recipe is super simple and healthy in comparison to the boxed, processed cheez-its. Especially when dusted with turmeric! Turmeric is proven to kill cancer cells, improve overall health, and increase memory. I use it in a lot of recipes and my family has no idea.

While we limit all electronic entertainment for our son, we also find value in periodic entertainment. We also read to him several times a day (which he loves). But as a mom, I see zero harm in dance parties, animated songs that teach, and short films that calm.

This was such a fun project. Donovan absolutely loves them and I can be happy that he is getting vitamins galore. I will definitely be making these more often. I want to experiment with different flavor combinations and natural colors. I will need a ton more molds though or it will take all day. I only have one so far and I simply poured the rest of the gummy bear mixture into a pyrex dish which I cut into little squares. This is probably the recommended way to make them, but I just love the little bears. I have loved gummy bears my whole life, so I am slightly obsessed with these.

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day… I made Donovan (our little Irish boy) some healthy Leprechaun Waffles! We will be sailing in Thailand for St. Patrick’s Day so I posted this a tad early. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did. This would make an excellent St. Patrick’s Day breakfast.

We used the Midori Spring ECO Class Culinary Grade Matcha which was perfect since it is organic and is known to contain high L-theanine levels and over 137x the EGCG levels that of regular steeped tea. Midori Spring ECO Class Culinary Grade Matcha is GLUTEN FREE, GMO FREE, and contains no pesticides, soy, wheat of any kind. USDA ORGANIC & KOSHER CERTIFIED ✪ Certified by WSDA, Seattle Va’ad Kosher Certified, Vegan Certified by Vegan Action.

Acai bowls and Buddha bowls are all the rage on Instagram these days! The pictures are like artwork. Essentially an acai bowl is just a deconstructed smoothie in a bowl with an artist’s touch. I love them. You can even add things you normally wouldn’t blend like almonds, goji berries, and granola.

For Donovan, I kept it simple and nutritious. He loved it. Here is the recipe which takes only a few minutes of prep.

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